Francis Hernandez, accused of causing a collision that resulted in three deaths, is in the country illegally. He had 16 arrests to his name and a predilection for ducking court dates, but his jail time was measured in days, not years.

Officials say law enforcement agencies throughout the state don't routinely exchange information on the records of those arrested for traffic violations, so Hernandez's previous arrests and warrants weren't always noted.

The information wasn't available to the last judge to try him for a traffic offense last month, just two weeks before he allegedly broadsided a pickup and sent it careening into an Aurora ice cream shop Thursday.

"This case was very typical. It would have included his (Division of Motor Vehicles) history and information from our traffic file but no (criminal check)," said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey.

And in spite of his numerous brushes with the law, no arresting agency ever asked immigration officials to check his status.

"We had no reason or probable cause to believe he was here illegally," Denver police spokeswoman Sharon Hahn said of Hernandez, who used 11 aliases.

Since his arrest Thursday, the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement Agency has determined that he probably entered the country illegally from Guatemala in 1991, said ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok.

"This has been a challenging case because of the number of aliases," Rusnok said.

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"I understand he has falsely claimed U.S. citizenship, and if (other agencies) did think he was legal, there was no reason to report him to ICE."

Colorado law requires enforcement agencies to report possible illegal immigrants to federal authorities for offenses more serious than traffic citations.

The Denver DA's office every day faxes to ICE a list of people arrested on felony charges, said Kimbrough.

But Hernandez's one felony conviction occurred before the state law went into effect.

Republican members of the state legislature voiced outrage over the system's failure to keep Hernandez off the street, blaming Gov. Bill Ritter's Democratic administration.

"It's time that we put a stop to the catch-and-release practice that allowed this tragedy to occur," said Rep. Jim Kerr, R-Jefferson County. "It is the first duty of government to protect public safety. As the chief enforcement office of Colorado, Gov. Ritter has a responsibility to address illegal immigration when it poses such a serious risk to public safety."

Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer responded by accusing Republicans of using the tragedy to bludgeon political opponents. "This is shameful, deplorable and degrading to the people those lawmakers claim to represent and to the memories of Marten Kudlis, Patricia Guntharp and Debra Serecky," the three who died in the accident.

"This was a senseless, terrible tragedy," Dreyer said. "Like all Coloradans, Gov. Ritter is outraged that anyone — especially someone who is apparently in this country illegally — could compile such a lengthy criminal record and still remain free to kill three innocent people."

In one instance, Hernandez spent 32 days in jail after a Lakewood arrest for criminal impersonation when he gave officers an alias and lied about having a driver's license. He spent another 25 days in the Gilpin County jail for having a forged instrument. Other offenses also drew brief stints behind bars.

In Denver County Court, Judge Claudia Jordan, armed only with Hernandez's previous traffic offenses, didn't know about the forged instrument, the misdemeanor assault or the shoplifting charge appearing on his record. Nor would she have known that he failed four times to appear in two cases in Jefferson County, a pattern he repeated frequently on an arrest record dating to 2003.

Many of his arrests were due to traffic offenses. It is not clear whether Hernandez ever had a Colorado driver's license, said Colorado Department of Revenue spokesman Mark Couch.

Denver police stopped him May 24 at East 16th Avenue and Willow Street and wrote him a summons for failing to use his headlights and driving without proof of insurance and a valid license.

On May 31, Denver police cited him again for driving without a valid license and other violations.

He missed a court date and wasn't brought before a judge on the charges until he was arrested July 18 in another case, said Kimbrough. On that date, he was stopped for not having a license plate on his car.

The arresting officer smelled alcohol on Hernandez, and Hernandez provided a false name, according to the complaint. When the officer couldn't find in the computer system the alias that Hernandez provided, Hernandez admitted he had lied and fled. He was apprehended and continued to resist arrest until police subdued him.

He pleaded guilty to several charges, and a magistrate sentenced him to five days in jail.

The May cases were lumped together, and he appeared before Jordan. She dismissed the case in exchange for Hernandez's pleading guilty to one charge of driving while under restraint. Under the plea bargain, he faced five days in jail. Jordan gave him until Dec. 17 to obtain a driver's license, telling him that if he did so, he would serve no jail time.

On Thursday he was spotted weaving in and out of traffic before slamming into Guntharp's Mazda.

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